Cellular communications system for providing non-real time subscription data and related methods

ABSTRACT

A cellular communications system may include a plurality of mobile cellular communications devices each associated with a respective user, and at least one cellular base station for wirelessly communicating with the mobile cellular communications devices. The at least one cellular base station may have a capacity associated therewith. The system may also include a central station for determining available capacity of the at least one cellular base station based upon active wireless communications with the mobile cellular communications devices. Moreover, the system may also include a subscription server for cooperating with the central station to provide non-real time subscription data to users on respective mobile cellular communications devices via the at least one cellular base station when the determined available capacity thereof is greater than a threshold.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to the field of communications system,and, more particularly, to cellular communications systems and relatedmethods.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Cellular communications systems are widely used for providing wirelessvoice communications between mobile cellular telephones and basestations. More particularly, when a cellular phone is turned on itestablishes communications with a base station, which informs a centralswitching station that calls for the cellular phone are to be routedthrough that particular base station. The base stations and the centralswitching station may communicate via a dedicated fiber optic or opticalcommunications link, for example.

As technology continues to improve, cellular telephones are capable ofperforming an increasing number of functions for users. For example,many cellular telephone devices now incorporate the functionality ofpersonal data assistant (PDA) devices, such as calendars, address books,etc. Moreover, these types of devices also allow users to send andretrieve electronic mail (email) via the cellular communications system.Indeed, many mobile cellular communications devices now have processingand storage capabilities that a few years ago were only available inpersonal computers (PCs).

The communications infrastructure connecting central switching stationsand base stations is typically capable of facilitating large amounts ofdata transfer therebetween. However, the capacity of base stations forwireless data communications is much more limited. As such, users aretypically charged by the amount of airtime they use, so it is usuallynot feasible to transfer relatively large amounts of data in thismanner. Thus, the functionality of multi-function cellular devices isstill somewhat restricted with respect to the data they can accesswirelessly via a base station.

Various approaches have been proposed to manage communications trafficover, and therefore better utilize, wireless cellular communicationlinks. By way of example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,742,588 discloses a method andsystem of packet switched traffic management in a cellulartelecommunications system. A packet switched radio channel (PRCH)manager is used for each cell of a cellular system, and a PRCHcontroller is used for each PRCH in the cell. A PRCH manager interactswith and controls one or more PRCH controllers. The PRCH managerevaluates service requests, handles a PRCH admission queue, and managesthe active PRCHs of the cell. The PRCH controllers supervise ongoingtraffic, control admission, and control traffic congestion for eachindividual PRCH. A system operator sets a maximum tolerable delay foreach PRCH and a priority for each packet call.

While such traffic management approaches may provide improvedperformance, attempting to simultaneously use the limited wirelesscapacity of base stations for very large data transfers and voicecommunications may still cause traffic management problems.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

In view of the foregoing background, it is therefore an object of thepresent invention to provide a cellular communications system whichprovides efficient communication of non-real time data to users andrelated methods.

This and other objects, features, and advantages in accordance with thepresent invention are provided by a cellular communications system whichmay include a plurality of mobile cellular communications devices eachassociated with a respective user, and at least one cellular basestation for wirelessly communicating with the mobile cellularcommunications devices. The at least one cellular base station may havea capacity associated therewith. The system may also include a centralstation for determining available capacity of the at least one cellularbase station based upon active wireless communications with the mobilecellular communications devices.

Moreover, the system may also include a subscription server forcooperating with the central station to provide non-real timesubscription data to users on respective mobile cellular communicationsdevices via the at least one cellular base station when the determinedavailable capacity thereof is greater than a threshold. As such, thesystem advantageously takes advantages of times when the base station isnot highly utilized to provide non-real time subscription data, and thusnot compromise its ability to provide real time voice services, etc., tocustomers.

More particularly, the subscription server may cooperate with thecentral station to discontinue providing subscription data when thedetermined available capacity falls below the threshold. Additionally,the subscription server may also cooperate with the central station todiscontinue providing subscription data to respective mobile cellularcommunications devices based upon an initiation of a telephone call.

Furthermore, the central station may maintain accounts for respectiveusers, and the central station may charge user accounts differently forproviding wireless voice communications and non-real time subscriptiondata. As an example, the central station could deduct minutes from auser's account for airtime used for wireless voice communications (i.e.,telephone calls), but not deduct any minutes for non-real timesubscription data. Thus, users may be encouraged to purchasesubscription data, as they will not use up airtime minutes doing so.Yet, since the non-real time subscription data is provided whenavailable capacity is greater than the threshold (i.e., when the atleast one base station is not highly utilized), there will be no adverseeffect on system performance by providing such “free” airtime.

The at least one cellular base station may generate capacity usageinformation, and the central station may determine the availablecapacity based thereon. Additionally, the subscription server mayfurther cooperate with the central station to provide a subscriptiondata menu to users on respective mobile cellular communications devices,and users may advantageously order non-real time subscription data basedupon the subscription data menu.

By way of example, the cellular communications system may also include awide area network (WAN) (e.g., the Internet) connecting the subscriptionserver to the central station. The subscription data may take manyforms. For example, the subscription data may include news articles,books, video game data, image data, television programming scheduledata, etc. In some embodiments, electronic mail (email) may bedesignated as subscription data as well.

A cellular communications method aspect of the invention may includedetermining an available capacity of at least one cellular base station.This may be done based upon active wireless communications between theat least one cellular base station and a plurality of mobile cellularcommunications devices, where the mobile cellular communications devicesare each associated with a respective user. The method may furtherinclude providing non-real time subscription data to users on respectivemobile cellular communications devices via the at least one cellularbase station when the determined available capacity thereof is greaterthan a threshold.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a schematic block diagram illustrating a cellularcommunications system in accordance with the present invention.

FIG. 2 is front view of the display screen of one of the mobile cellularcommunications devices of the system of FIG. 1 having a subscriptiondata menu displayed thereon.

FIGS. 3 and 4 are flow diagrams illustrating cellular communicationmethod aspects of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a schematic block diagram of an exemplary mobile wirelesscommunications device for use with the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

The present invention will now be described more fully hereinafter withreference to the accompanying drawings, in which preferred embodimentsof the invention are shown. This invention may, however, be embodied inmany different forms and should not be construed as limited to theembodiments set forth herein. Rather, these embodiments are provided sothat this disclosure will be thorough and complete, and will fullyconvey the scope of the invention to those skilled in the art. Likenumbers refer to like elements throughout, and prime notation is used toindicate similar elements in alternate embodiments.

Referring initially to FIG. 1, a cellular communications system 20 inaccordance with the present invention illustratively includes aplurality of mobile cellular communications devices 21, 22 eachassociated with a respective user. More particularly, in the presentexample the device 21 is a Blackberry device having a display 23, whilethe device 22 is a cellular phone with a display 24. An exemplary mobilewireless communications device 21 suitable for use with the presentinvention is described in the example provided below with reference toFIG. 5. In addition to being a cellular telephone, such devices oftenhave sufficient processing and data storage capabilities to providenumerous other features, such as calendars, address books, emailmessaging capabilities, and/or wireless Internet access, for example. Aswill be appreciated by those skilled in the art, when a user signs upwith a cellular service provider, an account is set up for the user, andthe user's profile and unique phone number are associated therewith.

The system 20 further illustratively includes a cellular base station 25for wirelessly communicating with the mobile cellular communicationsdevices. The base station 25 has a capacity associated therewith. Theparticular measure of the capacity will depend upon the particular typeof cellular protocol that is implemented in the system 20 (e.g., CDMA,TDMA, etc.). That is, in some cases the capacity of the base station 25may be measured in a number of channels the station has available forcommunicating with the mobile cellular communications devices 21, 22. Inother circumstances, the capacity may be measured in time slots, as willbe appreciated by those skilled in the art. Whatever the measure, itwill be understood that the base station 25 will have a finite amount ofcapacity available for communicating with mobile cellular communicationsdevices, and when this capacity is exceeded users will typically get anotification that no service is available at that particular time.

The system 20 also illustratively includes a central station 26, whichtypically communicates with the base station 25 via a communicationslink such as a fiber optic link, a free space optical (FSO) link, etc.,as will be appreciated by those skilled in the art. The central station26 performs a number of functions. One of these functions is to routecalls to and from the mobile cellular communications devices 21, 22 viaa public switched telephone network (PSTN), for example (not shown).

The central station 26 also determines the available capacity of thecellular base station 25 based upon active wireless communications withthe mobile cellular communications devices 21, 22. That is, the centralstation 26 determines whether service can be provided to the mobilecellular communications devices 21, 22 based upon how busy the basestation 25 is. If the base station 25 reaches its maximum capacity, thecentral station 26 will notify users or callers that a wirelessconnection with a particular device cannot be provided at thatparticular time, as will be appreciated by those skilled in the art.

In this regard, the base station 25 may periodically generate capacityusage information, and the central station 26 may determine theavailable capacity based thereon. In some embodiments the centralstation 26 may be able to determine available capacity without the basestation 25 having to generate capacity usage information, as will alsobe appreciated by those skilled in the art.

It should be noted that, while only two mobile cellular communicationsdevices 21, 22 are shown for clarity of illustration, in an actualcellular network implementation several hundred or even thousands ofdevices may be serviced by the base station. Similarly, numerous basestations 25 will also be used in an actual implementation to providecontinuous wireless coverage to users as they move about in their cars,etc. Accordingly, while the central station 26 is illustrated anddescribed herein as being a single entity, the various functions orcomponents thereof may in fact be distributed over numeroussub-stations, and there may even be hierarchies of such stations, aswill be appreciated by those skilled in the art.

In accordance with the invention, the system 20 also advantageouslyincludes a subscription server 27 for cooperating with the centralstation 26 to provide non-real time subscription data to users on theirrespective mobile cellular communications devices 21, 22 via the basestation 25. The central station 26 and subscription server 27 maycommunicate via a wide area network (WAN) 28, such as the Internet, forexample, as illustratively shown. The subscription server illustrativelyincludes a controller 50 (e.g., a microprocessor), and one or more datastorage devices 51 (e.g., a hard drive) connected to the controller forstoring the non-real time subscription data.

It should be noted that in some embodiments the subscription server 27may be implemented at the central station 26. That is, the subscriptionserver 27 may be at the same location and connected with the variouscomponents of the central station 26 in a local area network (LAN), forexample. As used herein, “server” means any suitable computing and/ordata storage device that can store non-real time subscription data andcooperate with the central station 26 to transfer such data to mobilecellular communications devices (e.g., it could be one or more personalcomputers (PCs), a network server, etc.).

By way of contrast, real time services would include telephone calls ordirect-connect (i.e., “walkie-talkie”) communications, which have to becommunicated or relayed between users. On the other hand, non-real timesubscription data would include data that does not have to beimmediately communicated or relayed. Such data may take numerous forms.For example, the non-real time subscription data may include newsarticles, books, video game data, image data (e.g., pictures),television programming schedule data, etc.

In particular, the central station 26 cooperates with the subscriptionserver 27 (where the non-real time subscription data is stored) toprovide such data to user devices serviced by the base station 25 whenthe determined available capacity of the base station is greater than athreshold. In other words, the system 20 takes advantage of times whenthe base station 25 is not highly utilized to provide the non-real timesubscription data to requesting users. As such, a cellular serviceprovider can more efficiently utilize the “down time” of the basestation 25 to provide more services and features to users, yet while nothaving to increase the capacity of the base station or compromise itsability to provide real time services to customers.

When the determined available capacity falls below the threshold, thecentral station 26 may cooperate with the subscription server 27 todiscontinue providing subscription data. That is, if an electronic book,for example, is being downloaded to a user's device and utilization ofthe base station 25 increases (i.e., the available capacity falls belowthe threshold), then the central station 26 informs the subscriptionserver 27 that it is discontinuing the flow of non-real timesubscription data to the user. As such, the subscription server 27 mayrecord where the data download stopped.

When the available capacity again rises above the threshold, the centralstation 26 may then inform the subscription server 27 to resume the datadownload, and the subscription server will begin transferring the datawhere it previously left off. Of course, other arrangements arepossible. For example, once the download has been discontinued, thesubscription server 27 could periodically send a request to the centralstation 26 for the download to continue, at which point the centralstation would grant the request or not based upon the available capacityof the base station 25 and the applicable threshold. Various thresholdsmay be used, and the one chosen in a particular implementation maydepend upon the geographical location of the base station, averageworkloads thereof, as well as other factors, as will be appreciated bythose skilled in the art.

It should be noted that the threshold could in fact be more than onethreshold, such as if hysteresis is to be used in discontinuing/resumingdata flow, as will be appreciated by those skilled in the art.Similarly, another option that may be used to enhance user experience inpurchasing subscription data is to download some initial portion of thedata relatively quickly, such as the first chapter of an electronicbook, based upon a relatively low available capacity threshold (orwithout using any threshold (i.e., real time)). Thereafter, theremainder of the subscription data may be downloaded using a higheravailable capacity threshold. Accordingly, since it will take the usersome time to read or otherwise process the initial portion of downloadeddata, it may appear to the user that the entire electronic book wassubstantially immediately downloaded to his mobile cellularcommunications device, because he does not notice the rest has not yetbeen received. Yet, the reminder of the data will continue beingdownloaded at later times as available capacity allows, unbeknownst tothe user.

In a similar manner, the central station 26 will also preferablycooperate with the subscription server 27 to discontinue providingnon-real time subscription data to respective mobile cellularcommunications devices 21, 22 based upon an initiation of a telephonecall corresponding thereto. Thus, if a user is receiving a subscriptiondata download and he either places or receives a call, the centralstation 26 may discontinue the data download to avoid disruption of thephone conversation. The download may then resume as discussed above.

As noted above, cellular service providers maintain accounts for each oftheir customers to track and charge for use of the cellular system. Oneparticularly advantageous feature of the invention is that the centralstation 26 may charge user accounts differently for providing wirelessvoice communications and non-real time subscription data. As an example,under typical cellular service plans, users are allotted a base numberof airtime minutes over a given period (e.g., one month) for a set fee.The central station 26 will track how many of the base minutes are used,in essence deducting used minutes from the base amount so that it may bedetermined when the user has exceeded the base amount and additionalusage charges are appropriate. Of course, pay by the minute plans arealso used in some instances, as will be appreciated by those skilled inthe art.

In one particularly advantageously implementation, the central station26 may continue to deduct minutes from a user's account for airtime usedfor wireless voice (i.e., real time) communications as above, but notdeduct any minutes for downloading non-real time subscription data. Inother words, download time for non-real time subscription data may betreated like off-peak airtime minutes under many cellular plans, inwhich the user is allowed unlimited communication time during such hoursas part of the monthly service fee.

This implementation may be advantageous in encouraging users to purchasesubscription data, as they will not use up airtime minutes doing so.Yet, since the non-real time subscription data may be restricted totimes when available capacity is greater than the threshold (i.e., whenthe base station 25 is not highly utilized), there will be no adverseeffect on performance of the system 20 by providing such “free” airtime.However, the cellular service provider may still earn revenue byobtaining a percentage of the subscription fee the user pays for thedownloaded data (e.g., a certain percentage of the price a users pays toa book publisher to download an electronic book). As will be appreciatedby those skilled in the art, numerous downloading and chargingarrangements may be made between subscription data content providers andcellular service providers depending upon the type of data beingdownloaded.

It should be noted that in some embodiments electronic mail (email) maybe designated as non-real time subscription data as well. Presently,most cellular networks treat email essentially as real time data, inthat they forward emails substantially immediately despite the level ofnetwork traffic experienced by a particular base station. However, inaccordance with the present invention, email could be reserved for timeswhen the available capacity was above the threshold. For example, userscould be given a low cost email option in which emails are not sent whenavailable base station capacity is below the threshold. This may bedesirable for customers who use email for personal and not business use,for example. Pictures taken by or sent to mobile communications deviceshaving built-in digital camera features may similarly be designated asnon-real time subscription data.

Users may order non-real time subscription data such as electronicbooks, etc., in various ways. One particularly advantageous approach isfor the subscription server 27 to cooperate with the central station 26to provide a subscription data menu to users on their respective mobilecellular communications devices 21, 22, as illustrated in FIG. 2. Forexample, the menu could be a hierarchical menu in which users firstselect the general category of data (electronic books, news, etc.), andthen navigate through successive menus until finding the particular itemthey wish to purchase. In some embodiments, more than one subscriptionserver 27 may be used, and the central station 26 could aggregaterespective menus from the various servers into a single menu for users.Users may pay the subscription data using a credit card, bank account,or may be added to their cellular service bill, as will be appreciatedby those skilled in the art.

In addition, it should also be noted that the mobile cellularcommunications devices 21, 22 need not be enabled for cellular voicecommunications in all embodiments. That is, such devices may exclude thetelephony circuitry used for cellular telephone calls, and insteadinclude a cellular transceiver that is used only for accessing non-realtime subscription data. This may be advantageous for users who do notwish to carry an integrated cellular phone/PDA type device, which may berelatively larger than a typical cellular telephone because it includesa display screen. That is, such users may carry a relatively small cellphone with them most of the time, yet have a separate non-real timesubscription data device that they do not have to carry as often. Forexample, a user may receive an electronic subscription to a newspaper,and thus only use the non-real time subscription data device in themorning when she reads the paper.

Of course, even if a user has a cellular device with telephonecapabilities, the user may still access non-real time subscription datain accordance with the present invention even if the telephone portionof the phone is not used (e.g., the user does not sign up for a voiceservice plan with a provider). That is, the user could sign up with acellular service provider for non-real time subscription data serviceonly, and therefore be charged at a lower rate for airtime (or not atall, as discussed above).

Turning now additionally to FIG. 3, a cellular communications methodaspect of the invention begins (Block 30) with a user requestingnon-real time subscription data, at Block 31. When such data isrequested, the central station 26 determines the available capacity ofthe base station 25, and whether the determined available capacity isgreater than the appropriate threshold, at Blocks 32 and 33. Again, thisis done based upon active wireless communications between the basestation 25 and the mobile cellular communications devices 21, 22.

It should be noted that the central station 26 will typically bedetermining (i.e., monitoring) available capacity on a continuous basis.Thus, while this step is shown after the subscription data request stepat Block 31 for clarity of illustration, the central station 26 need notwait until a subscription request is made to determine availablecapacity. If the determined available capacity is greater than thethreshold, the requested non-real time subscription data is thenprovided to the respective user device, at Block 34, as discussedpreviously above, thus concluding the illustrated method (Block 35).

Additional method aspects will now be described with reference to FIG.4. More particularly, as noted above the available capacity may bedetermined (Block 32′) based upon capacity usage information generatedby the base station 25, for example, at Block 40′. Moreover, once it hasbeen determined that the available capacity is greater than thethreshold (Block 33′) and downloading of non-real time subscription datacommences, at Block 41′, various events may cause the download to bediscontinued. For example, if a telephone call is placed/received by thesame mobile cellular communications device receiving the download, atBlock 42′, the central station 26 may then begin charging the user'saccount for the airtime used for the call, and the download isdiscontinued, at Blocks 43′ and 44′. Similarly, even if no telephonecall is placed, if the available capacity falls below the thresholdduring downloading, at Block 45′, then the download is discontinueduntil the available capacity rises back above the threshold, as notedabove.

EXAMPLE

An exemplary hand-held mobile wireless communications device 1000 thatcan be used in the present invention is further described in the examplebelow with reference to FIG. 5. The device 1000 includes a housing 1200,a keyboard 1400 and an output device 1600. The output device shown is adisplay 1600, which is preferably a full graphic LCD. Other types ofoutput devices may alternatively be utilized. A processing device 1800is contained within the housing 1200 and is coupled between the keyboard1400 and the display 1600. The processing device 1800 controls theoperation of the display 1600, as well as the overall operation of themobile device 1000, in response to actuation of keys on the keyboard1400 by the user.

The housing 1200 may be elongated vertically, or may take on other sizesand shapes (including clamshell housing structures). The keyboard mayinclude a mode selection key, or other hardware or software forswitching between text entry and telephony entry.

In addition to the processing device 1800, other parts of the mobiledevice 1000 are shown schematically in FIG. 5. These include acommunications subsystem 1001; a short-range communications subsystem1020; the keyboard 1400 and the display 1600, along with otherinput/output devices 1060, 1080, 1100 and 1120; as well as memorydevices 1160, 1180 and various other device subsystems 1201. The mobiledevice 1000 is preferably a two-way RF communications device havingvoice and data communications capabilities. In addition, the mobiledevice 1000 preferably has the capability to communicate with othercomputer systems via the Internet.

Operating system software executed by the processing device 1800 ispreferably stored in a persistent store, such as the flash memory 1160,but may be stored in other types of memory devices, such as a read onlymemory (ROM) or similar storage element. In addition, system software,specific device applications, or parts thereof, may be temporarilyloaded into a volatile store, such as the random access memory (RAM)1180. Communications signals received by the mobile device may also bestored in the RAM 1180.

The processing device 1800, in addition to its operating systemfunctions, enables execution of software applications 1300A-1300N on thedevice 1000. A predetermined set of applications that control basicdevice operations, such as data and voice communications 1300A and1300B, may be installed on the device 1000 during manufacture. Inaddition, a personal information manager (PIM) application may beinstalled during manufacture. The PIM is preferably capable oforganizing and managing data items, such as e-mail, calendar events,voice mails, appointments, and task items. The PIM application is alsopreferably capable of sending and receiving data items via a wirelessnetwork 1401. Preferably, the PIM data items are seamlessly integrated,synchronized and updated via the wireless network 1401 with the deviceuser's corresponding data items stored or associated with a hostcomputer system.

Communication functions, including data and voice communications, areperformed through the communications subsystem 1001, and possiblythrough the short-range communications subsystem. The communicationssubsystem 1001 includes a receiver 1500, a transmitter 1520, and one ormore antennas 1540 and 1560. In addition, the communications subsystem1001 also includes a processing module, such as a digital signalprocessor (DSP) 1580, and local oscillators (LOs) 1601. The specificdesign and implementation of the communications subsystem 1001 isdependent upon the communications network in which the mobile device1000 is intended to operate. For example, a mobile device 1000 mayinclude a communications subsystem 1001 designed to operate with theMobitex™, Data TAC™ or General Packet Radio Service (GPRS) mobile datacommunications networks, and also designed to operate with any of avariety of voice communications networks, such as AMPS, TDMA, CDMA, PCS,GSM, etc. Other types of data and voice networks, both separate andintegrated, may also be utilized with the mobile device 1000.

Network access requirements vary depending upon the type ofcommunication system. For example, in the Mobitex and DataTAC networks,mobile devices are registered on the network using a unique personalidentification number or PIN associated with each device. In GPRSnetworks, however, network access is associated with a subscriber oruser of a device. A GPRS device therefore requires a subscriber identitymodule, commonly referred to as a SIM card, in order to operate on aGPRS network.

When required network registration or activation procedures have beencompleted, the mobile device 1000 may send and receive communicationssignals over the communication network 1401. Signals received from thecommunications network 1401 by the antenna 1540 are routed to thereceiver 1500, which provides for signal amplification, frequency downconversion, filtering, channel selection, etc., and may also provideanalog to digital conversion. Analog-to-digital conversion of thereceived signal allows the DSP 1580 to perform more complexcommunications functions, such as demodulation and decoding. In asimilar manner, signals to be transmitted to the network 1401 areprocessed (e.g. modulated and encoded) by the DSP 1580 and are thenprovided to the transmitter 1520 for digital to analog conversion,frequency up conversion, filtering, amplification and transmission tothe communication network 1401 (or networks) via the antenna 1560.

In addition to processing communications signals, the DSP 1580 providesfor control of the receiver 1500 and the transmitter 1520. For example,gains applied to communications signals in the receiver 1500 andtransmitter 1520 may be adaptively controlled through automatic gaincontrol algorithms implemented in the DSP 1580.

In a data communications mode, a received signal, such as a text messageor web page download, is processed by the communications subsystem 1001and is input to the processing device 1800. The received signal is thenfurther processed by the processing device 1800 for an output to thedisplay 1600, or alternatively to some other auxiliary I/O device 1060.A device user may also compose data items, such as email messages, usingthe keyboard 1400 and/or some other auxiliary I/O device 1060, such as atouchpad, a rocker switch, a thumb-wheel, or some other type of inputdevice. The composed data items may then be transmitted over thecommunications network 1401 via the communications subsystem 1001.

In a voice communications mode, overall operation of the device issubstantially similar to the data communications mode, except thatreceived signals are output to a speaker 1100, and signals fortransmission are generated by a microphone 1120. Alternative voice oraudio I/O subsystems, such as a voice message recording subsystem, mayalso be implemented on the device 1000. In addition, the display 1600may also be utilized in voice communications mode, for example todisplay the identity of a calling party, the duration of a voice call,or other voice call related information.

The short-range communications subsystem enables communication betweenthe mobile device 1000 and other proximate systems or devices, whichneed not necessarily be similar devices. For example, the short-rangecommunications subsystem may include an infrared device and associatedcircuits and components, or a Bluetooth™ communications module toprovide for communication with similarly-enabled systems and devices.

Many modifications and other embodiments of the invention will come tothe mind of one skilled in the art having the benefit of the teachingspresented in the foregoing descriptions and the associated drawings.Therefore, it is understood that the invention is not to be limited tothe specific embodiments disclosed, and that modifications andembodiments are intended to be included within the scope of the appendedclaims.

1. A cellular communications system comprising: a plurality of mobilecellular communications devices each associated with a respective user;at least one cellular base station for wirelessly communicating withsaid plurality of mobile cellular communications devices, said at leastone cellular base station having a capacity associated therewith; acentral station for determining available capacity of said at least onecellular base station based upon active wireless communications withsaid mobile cellular communications devices; and a subscription serverfor cooperating with said central station to provide non-real timesubscription data to users on respective mobile cellular communicationsdevices via said at least one cellular base station when the determinedavailable capacity thereof is greater than a threshold.
 2. The cellularcommunications system of claim 1 wherein said subscription servercooperates with said central station to discontinue providingsubscription data when the determined available capacity falls below thethreshold.
 3. The cellular communications system of claim 1 wherein saidsubscription server cooperates with said central station to discontinueproviding subscription data to respective mobile cellular communicationsdevices based upon an initiation of a telephone call.
 4. The cellularcommunications system of claim 1 wherein said central station maintainsaccounts for respective users; wherein said central station charges useraccounts differently for providing wireless voice communications andnon-real time subscription data.
 5. The cellular communications systemof claim 1 wherein said at least one cellular base station generatescapacity usage information, and wherein said central station determinesthe available capacity based thereon.
 6. The cellular communicationssystem of claim 1 wherein said subscription server further cooperateswith said central station to provide a subscription data menu to userson respective mobile cellular communications devices, and wherein usersorder non-real time subscription data based upon the subscription datamenu.
 7. The cellular communications system of claim 1 furthercomprising a wide area network (WAN) connecting said subscription serverto said central station.
 8. The cellular communications system of claim1 wherein the subscription data comprises at least one of news articles,books, video game data, image data, and television programming scheduledata.
 9. The cellular communications system of claim 1 wherein thesubscription data comprises electronic mail (email) data.
 10. A cellularcommunications system comprising: a plurality of mobile cellularcommunications devices each associated with a respective user; at leastone cellular base station for wirelessly communicating with saidplurality of mobile cellular communications devices, said at least onecellular base station having a capacity associated therewith; a centralstation for determining available capacity of said at least one cellularbase station based upon active wireless communications with said mobilecellular communications devices; and a subscription server forcooperating with said central station to provide non-real timesubscription data to users on respective mobile cellular communicationsdevices via said at least one cellular base station when the determinedavailable capacity thereof is greater than a threshold; saidsubscription server cooperating with said central station to discontinueproviding subscription data based upon at least one of the determinedavailable capacity falling below the threshold, and an initiation of atelephone call corresponding to a respective mobile cellularcommunications device receiving non-real time subscription data.
 11. Thecellular communications system of claim 10 wherein said central stationmaintains accounts for respective users; wherein said central stationcharges user accounts differently for providing wireless voicecommunications and non-real time subscription data.
 12. The cellularcommunications system of claim 10 wherein said at least one cellularbase station generates capacity usage information, and wherein saidcentral station determines the available capacity based thereon.
 13. Thecellular communications system of claim 10 wherein said subscriptionserver further cooperates with said central station to provide asubscription data menu to users on respective mobile cellularcommunications devices, and wherein users order non-real timesubscription data based upon the subscription data menu.
 14. Thecellular communications system of claim 10 further comprising a widearea network (WAN) connecting said subscription server to said centralstation.
 15. The cellular communications system of claim 10 wherein thesubscription data comprises at least one of news articles, books, videogame data, image data, and television programming schedule data.
 16. Thecellular communications system of claim 10 wherein the subscription datacomprises electronic mail (email) data.
 17. A subscription server foruse with a cellular communications system comprising a plurality ofmobile cellular communications devices each associated with a respectiveuser, at least one cellular base station for wirelessly communicatingwith the plurality of mobile cellular communications devices and havinga capacity associated therewith, and a central station for determiningavailable capacity of the at least one cellular base station based uponactive wireless communications with the mobile cellular communicationsdevices, the subscription server comprising: at least one data storagedevice for storing non-real time subscription data; and a controllerconnected to said at least one data storage device for cooperating withthe central station to provide non-real time subscription data to userson respective mobile cellular communications devices via the at leastone cellular base station when the determined available capacity thereofis greater than a threshold.
 18. The subscription server of claim 17wherein said controller cooperates with the central station todiscontinue providing subscription data when the determined availablecapacity falls below the threshold.
 19. The subscription server of claim17 wherein said controller cooperates with the central station todiscontinue providing subscription data to respective mobile cellularcommunications devices based upon an initiation of a telephone call. 20.The subscription server of claim 17 wherein said controller furthercooperates with the central station to provide a subscription data menuto users on respective mobile cellular communications devices, andwherein users order non-real time subscription data based upon thesubscription data menu.
 21. The subscription server of claim 17 whereinthe subscription data comprises at least one of news articles, books,video game data, image data, and television programming schedule data.22. The subscription server of claim 17 wherein the subscription datacomprises electronic mail (email) data.
 23. A cellular communicationsmethod comprising: determining an available capacity of at least onecellular base station based upon active wireless communications betweenthe at least one cellular base station and a plurality of mobilecellular communications devices, the mobile cellular communicationsdevices each being associated with a respective user; and providingnon-real time subscription data to users on respective mobile cellularcommunications devices via the at least one cellular base station whenthe determined available capacity thereof is greater than a threshold.24. The method of claim 23 further comprising discontinuing providingsubscription data when the determined available capacity falls below thethreshold.
 25. The method of claim 23 further comprising discontinuingproviding subscription data to respective mobile cellular communicationsdevices based upon an initiation of a telephone call correspondingthereto.
 26. The method of claim 23 further comprising maintainingaccounts for respective users, and charging user accounts differentlyfor providing wireless voice communications and non-real timesubscription data.
 27. The method of claim 23 further comprisinggenerating capacity usage information at that at least one cellular basestation, and wherein determining comprises determining the availablecapacity based upon the generated capacity usage information.
 28. Themethod of claim 23 further comprising providing a subscription data menuto users on respective mobile cellular communications devices, andwherein users order non-real time subscription data based upon thesubscription data menu.
 29. The method of claim 23 wherein thesubscription data comprises at least one of news articles, books, videogame data, image data, and television programming schedule data.
 30. Themethod of claim 23 wherein the subscription data comprises electronicmail (email) data.